Floor-clamp



(No Motiel'.)

E. CAYWOOD.

FLOOR CLAMP. No. 281,968 Patented July 24, 1883.

WITNESSES:

.5. /P k/ I 'ATTORNEYS.

N. PEIERS. PMlu-Lilhagrapher. Wahington D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

ERNEST OAYXVOOD, OF VINING, KANSAS.

FLOOR-CLAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,968, dated July 24,1883.

Application filed April 26, 1888. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST CAYWOOD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Vining, in the county of Clay and State of Kansas, haveinvented a new and Improved Floor- Glamp, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of clamps used for crowding boardstogether edgewise in order to form tight joints between them in theprocess of laying floors; and it has for its object to produce afloorclamp which may be quickly attached to the joists on which thefloor is being laid, and worked by one hand of the workman to press theboards together, and to so hold them of its own accord, leaving bothhands of the workman free. To this end it consists in the constructionand combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is atransverse vertical section of a piece of flooring, showing my clamp inside elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is aninverted plan view of the clamp-holder.

A represents the floorboards, and B the joists upon which the floor isto be laid.

O is the clamp-holder, having rigidly fixed jaws a b, to engage thevertical sides of the joist B at diagonal points by avertically-twisting strain.- The distance between the jaws a b is suchas to engage a two-inch joist (marked 2 in the drawings) when the holder0 crosses the joist nearly at right angles, and to engage a three-inchjoist (marked 3) when the holder is in a diagonal position.

a is a stud upon the end of holder 0, upon which the lever D is looselyfulcrumed.

E is the presser, pivoted at its rear end to lever D, and gained acrossits forward end, to rest the lip c of the gain 011 top of thefloorboard, or of an intermediate board used to distribute the pressure,while its shoulder g presses the edge thereof. In use the shoulder ofthe presser is placed against the edge of the board to be laid, oragainst the intermediateboard, and while the handle is held in theposition shown in dotted lines by the workmans left hand the holder 0will rest on the joist B, with the jaws a b loosely touching the sidesthereof. Now, a downward pressure of the lever will first engage thejaws firmly with the joist, and will then force the presser E againstthe board, and when the joint h of the presser and lever approaches theline of the forward end of the presser and the leverfulcrum c the forceapplied to the lever is almost infinitely multiplied in its applicationto the edge of the board. By the use of this clamp the crookedest andmost refractory boards may be pressed to form tight joints in the floor.The offset G in the lever at its joint with the presser permits thatjoint to pass below the line of centers when the lever touches thefloor, thus holding the clamp to its duty while the workman leaves thelever to nail down the board. To permit the handle to be grasped whenresting on the floor I have provided an offset, F, to rest on the floor,when the handlef is sufficiently raised to admit the hand of the workmanbetween it and the floor. The presser is slotted in the under side ofits forward end to rest on the joist, as a guide to assist in hand lingthe clamp with one hand.

This clamp may be used for laying Wainscoting and ships siding, as wellas flooring. It is adapted for use wherever boards are to be laid onjoists or similar beams.

What I claim as my invention, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. lnafloor clamp having a presser adapted to crowd against the edge ofthe floor, the combination, with a lever pivoted to said presser, of aclamp-holder consisting of a block provided with diagonal jaws ononeface, and a stud on one end engaging the lever as a ful crumtherefor, as shown and described.

2. The combination, with afloor-clamp holder having diagonal jawsadapted to engage the vertical sides of the joist, and a stud projectingfrom one of its ends, of a lever fulcrumed on said stud, adapted toswing down upon the floor, and a presser pivoted to the lever at oneside of the line of the joist to which the jaws are adapted .to hold, asshown and described.

3. The combination, with a floor clampholder having jaws and a stud insuch relation to each other that the jaws are adapted to engage thesides of a joist of the floor when the center of the stud is below thetop of the floor, of a lever fulcrumed 011 said stud, having one upwardoffset near the fulcrum and.

2 eelnocs another upward offset near the handle and a beneath the handlewhen the lower curve of presser pivoted to the lever at the lower curvethe second offset rests on the floor for the purof the first offset, asshown and described pose stated. whereby the resser-pivot may be broughtbelow the line of the lever-fulcrum and the \Vitnesses: point of contactof the resser and floor-edge, J W. SHAFFER, and space will be left forthe operators hand HENRY COOPER.

ERNEST OAYWVOOD.

